Rock'em Sock'em
by amsrule
Summary: Audrey and Nathan get invited to a party at the Grey Gull. What could go wrong when you combine Rock'em Sock'em Robots, alcohol, and sexual tension? Goes AU sometime early season 2, not too many spoilers, mainly fluff for now but we'll see where it goes.
1. Chapter 1

"There's Haven's best detective, the only policeman I've ever liked. Police woman? Whatever."

Audrey sighed, looking up from the spread of files on Nathan's desk to find Duke Crocker leaning against the office's entryway.

"What do you want, Duke?" she asked, resting her hand on her hip.

He eyed her and stretched out his legs, showing off his full 6 foot 2 height. "What, I can't just stop by for a visit?"

She pursed her lips. "No, not really."

"How'd you get in trouble this time?" Nathan piped up from his spot beside her. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "And no, we're not going to bail you out."

Duke frowned and clasped his hands over his chest. "Your lack of confidence wounds me." He pushed off the door jamb and sauntered into the room, up to the front of the desk. "I just came to invite Haven's finest to my little shindig at the Grey Gull tonight—in a non-official capacity of course."

"What's the occasion?" Nathan asked.

The other man shrugged. "Do I need an occasion? If you must know, Mr. Creighton came in and asked me about doing a fundraiser for the firefighters after they've done so much these past couple weeks. I figured, why not?"

Audrey chuckled and her body relaxed slightly. She lowered her hand onto Nathan's shoulder instinctually but after Duke's eyes tracked the movement, she stepped back and detached herself from her partner. "So what's the fundraiser?"

"Rock'em Sock'em Robots." He announced proudly.

Nathan's eyebrows furrowed. "Rock'em Sock'em Robots? Is that even still around? I haven't played that in years. Not that I ever played it well in the first place." He laid his arms out on the desk and stared at them dejectedly.

"Rock'em Sock'em Robots. Got it. Okay. And?"

Duke guffawed. "And… that's it? We'll have the full menu, full bar, loud music—it'll be tons of fun and I just wanted to make sure you'll be there."

Audrey shook her head, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "I don't know, Duke."

"Come on, you deserve to take a break from all the hard work you do and have some fun once in a while."

She sighed. "But…"

"Ah ah ah!" Duke interrupted. "No buts. I fully expect to see you there. I'll even buy your first drink, alright? Something alcoholic." He pointed at her for a few seconds and then turned around to leave. He walked out of the office, paused, and turned back. "I expect to see you there too, tin man." He gave Nathan a quick wink and then walked off.

Once he was out of sight, Audrey turned around and perched herself on the edge of her partner's desk. "So, a fundraiser…"

"I wonder why we're just now hearing of this. Doesn't he have to get a permit or something?"

The blonde sighed and placed her hand over his. "Just let him go." She paused. "Are you gunna be there?"

Nathan glanced down at the files, and their joined hands, and then looked back up at his partner. "Are you going to?"

She shrugged. "I hate to say this, but he was kind of right, maybe we do need a break. Plus, things have been quiet today, now it's the weekend. Lucy research can wait." She tapped her index finger on the files. "When's the last time we just went out for a drink?"

"Fair enough." Nathan said, reaching out to close the folders. "Plus, it is for a good cause."

"Exactly, so we have to go."

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><p>We're starting off kinda short and quick for now, as you can see. But more is coming very soon. Please review and let me know what you think and inspire me to keep going!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Audrey was standing in front of a long mirror, smoothing a hand over the front of her blouse, when a loud knock rapped on her door.

"Just a moment!" she called out. She checked over the outfit once more and was still unsatisfied. Something looked off. With a huff, she retucked the hem of the top into her tight black pencil skirt. There. That looked better.

"Audrey?"

A small smile flitted across her face. She hadn't been expecting him to show up at her apartment before they met up at the bar, but then again it didn't surprise her.

She ran her hands through her hair once to tousle the soft waves and then turned away from the mirror. She reached down and slid her feet into her black ankle boots.

Through the sheer curtain over the glass door, Audrey could see him raise his arm again to knock. She strode over to the door and pulled it open just in time. She opened her mouth to greet him froze.

Gone were the grey Henley and blue canvas jacked she had seen him in earlier that day. Now he was wearing a form fitting black t shirt and a dark leather jacket.

"Hey Nathan," she forced out. She watched his eyes scan her form a couple of times and felt her cheeks flush.

It was a few seconds before his eyes jumped up to meet hers and he responded, "Hey, Parker. Uhh… Audrey. You look… very nice."

Audrey looked down at the deep blue ruffled top she was wearing. It was a richer color and a thinner, sheerer material than she usually wore. She'd grabbed it from the local consignment shop a few months ago on impulse but it had sat on the back of her close unneeded until now, when she'd decided to give it a chance. She still worried it didn't look quite right on her. "This isn't too much?"

Immediately, her partner shook his head. "No, no. It looks great, really." He couldn't stop staring. The top really brought out the blue of her eyes and it looked great against her pale skin and it ever so slightly hugged her curves and then that skirt—Nathan reached up and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck as he pushed the errant thoughts away.

"Well thanks." She responded slowly. "You don't look too bad yourself. Where'd you get that jacket?" She reached out and touched the lapel, feeling how smooth it was.

Nathan looked down at her hand, torn between nervously pushing her away and pulling her closer so that he might actually feel her skin against his. He settled for grabbing her hand in his, simultaneously moving her away from where she was kind of stroking his chest while still achieving that skin to skin contact. "I've had it for a while," he explained, "Just don't wear it much."

The blonde smiled. "Well maybe you should wear it more often, stud." She winked at him and then glanced at the wall clock next to the door. "Should we go?" He nodded. "Alright, give me just a second." She slid her hand from his, both of them instantly mourning the loss of contact, and then walked over to the couch. She grabbed a small black purse, checked its contents, and then reached down to surreptitiously check her hidden thigh holster. A cop was never without her gun, even if they were off duty, she had learned.

Audrey turned around and walked back over to her partner. He backed out of the doorway and she followed, shutting and locking the door behind her. Nathan gestured for her to lead the way, so she did. She walked around the wooden deck and down the stairs. She could already hear the loud beat of the music bursting from the restaurant.

There were both perks and drawbacks to living above the Grey Gull. For one, it helped that she was good friends with her landlord—he tended to be a bit lenient about the rent and was always more than willing to fix any problem that came up. However, she also had to deal with his loud, raucous parties frequently, and sometimes they even kept her up at night. While she wasn't much of a party-type (partially because of her profession) she did enjoy a light drink now and then. Duke always made pretty good cocktails. Plus, she didn't have to worry about a designated driver because she lived right upstairs.

"Does this noise ever bother you?" Nathan inquired as they approached the door.

Audrey shrugged. "Occasionally. This is one of the loudest parties in a while, though, so it should be interesting."

The moment they walked into the Grey Gull, they were greeted by an enthusiastic Duke. "Well lookie here, the most beautiful woman in town has graced my little ole' establishment with her magnificent presence."

"Duke, stop." She pleaded.

He waved her off. "Welcome to tonight's fundraiser. Can I get you a drink?" he sidled up next to Audrey. "Gin and tonic, glass of wine, classic margarita?"

'Go big or go home.' Audrey thought before she responded. "How about something tall, strong, and fruity?"

"Tall, strong, and fruity, coming right up. And a beer for the tin man." He scrambled off to the bar.

Nathan gaped for a moment, and then sighed. "Does he really have to call me that?"

Audrey chuckled. "He's just playing around, you know that."

"He's been 'playing around' for years." He grumbled.

"Relax Nathan. Let it go and just have some fun tonight, please." She reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward through the throngs of people.

A large crowd had already gathered. They were all standing around talking and drinking. Some of the younger and drunker ones were dancing in the far corner of the room. A couple Rock'em Sock'em Robots toys were set out, ready for the competition. One of the firefighters, a tall brunette who's name Audrey didn't know (but wanted to) was walking around in only the bottom half of his gear, asking for donations. She slipped a couple dollars into the bucket when he walked by.

"Wanna sit?" She asked her partner, spotting a small open table.

"Sure." Nathan reached out to the table first and pulled out a chair for her. She smiled in thanks as she sat down and then he followed suit across from her.

Before they could get into awkward small talk, Duke walked up to them. He placed a tall brown bottle in front of Nathan and then handed Audrey a glass full of something pink. A green twisty straw stuck out of the top and she took a drink. It tasted like a sweet candied watermelon and it went down pretty smooth. She took another drink in approval.

"Mmm, thanks Duke."

"It's not a problem." The man in question grinned. "I just want you to have some fun tonight."

She tipped the drink in his direction. "I sure will."

With a short wave, Duke walked off.

Nathan took a swig from his bottle and leaned back in his chair. "Sooo…"

Audrey chuckled. "So what? Do you wanna get up and dance?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "Not really."

"Not drunk enough for that yet? I'll wait." She smirked.

"Never gunna happen."

She winked. "We'll see."

She couldn't help but wonder about his Trouble, though. Could he feel it when he was drunk? If he wasn't able to feel basic stimuli or even know if he was sick, then it would stand to reason that he couldn't feel the effects of being intoxicated. The only thing he could feel, for whatever reason, was her. She couldn't imagine not feeling things. She took her sense of touch for granted—the softness of her blouse against her skin, the scratch of a comb over her scalp, the icy bite of snow. And he couldn't feel any of it.

"Hey Nathan, can I ask you a question"? She spoke up after taking another drink.

He nodded. "Ayuh. Go ahead."

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><p>Thanks for reading, lovelies, and please leave a review to let me know what you think and inspire me to keep writing!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you even feel getting drunk? Like… I know you can't feel things or people so what's the extent of your Trouble?"

In an instant, his face darkened. She regretted asking and almost took it back when he moved forward and leaned his forearms on the table. She could tell by the square of his shoulders that he had resigned himself to answer, so she sat back to let him talk.

"Yeah, well I can't feel most physical stimuli so," he placed one hand down flat on the table. "I can't feel the texture of this material or what the temperature of the table is, but I can feelit in the sense that I know there's a surface there because my hand can't go any farther. With being drunk, it's not that I don't feel it, per se, but that my brain analyzes it differently. Like, sometimes, when people are drunk, their mind and body are a bit disconnected and that's why they stumble and stuff. For me, I can't necessarily feel my limbs, but I know they're there, so movements are basic muscle memory now. So since I'm already disconnected like that, I don't feel those physical side effects." He paused to gulp down some of his beer. "But I can feel it mentally. So the slurred thoughts and bad decision making—that's all there."

"Blurry vision?"

"Ayuh."

"But no hangover headaches?"

"Thankfully, no."

Audrey stared at her partner for a few seconds and then leaned down to take a drink from the fun straw. "Well… I'm sorry I asked. I didn't mean to seem rude or anything by bringing it up."

He shrugged her off and took another drink. "You're fine, Parker."

"It, umm…" she leaned in closer. "It sounds like you think about it a lot."

Nathan let out a painful chuckle. "I do. Even though I've gotten used to the feeling—or, rather, the lack of feeling, I find myself analyzing every movement, you know? I always have to be careful not to overextend and run into something or to take my time eating so I don't burn myself. It's simple stuff but… I don't know… I do what I can." He finished off his drink and placed it back loudly onto the table.

'Wow, this really eats him up.' Audrey realized. She had known that he really disliked his Trouble, but she hadn't seen how deep his problems were buried within him. She frowned, trying to figure out a way to help him. It wasn't really her job to help him, and she knew that. But part of her still felt like she needed to. Jess clearly hadn't been able to, with how abruptly their relationship had ended. But could she be better for him?

She paused.

No.

It's not like she was going to be in a relationship with him. They were partners and that was it. They were also really good friends. He was her first, and best, friend in Haven. She wouldn't really admit it to him, but he meant a lot to her. So that's why she needed, wanted, to help him deal with his Trouble.

Plus, she was some kind of magic Trouble fixer, wasn't she? That's what she did in Haven—she was the Trouble problem-solver. The Trouble psychologist. She talked people down from their dangerous Troubles. So it made sense that she'd do the same for Nathan. It helped that she was already immune to the Troubles, to his Trouble. Was that the solution?

She reached out and slowly lowered her hand down onto his on the table. Staring at him, she caught the tiny, almost imperceptible, twitch in his eye. Then, just barely, his shoulders relaxed.

"What is it like when I touch you? When you feel me?" She questioned rapidly, before she could chicken out.

Nathan's light blue-green eyes locked on to hers and he seemed to see the deepest parts of her. "It's… it's almost like an explosion." He responded without looking away from her. "Or fireworks underneath my skin. It sparks and crackles… and then fades when you move away. When you don't, when the contact is intentional, longer… it settles into this calm, steady warmth, like the embers of a fire." He shrugged and glanced down at their joined hands. "It's… I don't know… It's surprising. But nice."

Audrey found herself staring at him in awe—he described it perfectly. God, she hadn't realized that he had such a way with words. It's no wonder he was obsessed with touching her. Right after he had figured out he could feel her, he had high fived and shook hands with her constantly.

"For a few seconds, I feel more real." He continued. "Duke jokingly calls me Tin Man all the time, among other things, and I hate it, but at the same time, he's right. I'm a shell, a consciousness trapped inside a body I can't feel or use or fully enjoy, and, what, does that make me a robot or something?" Audrey shook her head 'no'. "Well, it sure feels like it. But when I feel you, I exist."

'You exist?' Audrey wanted to scream out incredulously. She was the one that had multiple past lives and even currently had someone else's memories. She felt like a robot most of the time, some sort of pre-programmed android. She had always thought that it was he who grounded her, not the other way around.

Was that disconnectedness where his Trouble came from? Most of the Troubles she had encountered in Haven had some sort of cause or trigger. Was that Nathan's?

Audrey twisted her fingers tighter around his and frowned. "Do you… do you think that's where your Trouble comes from? Your emotional numbness to things?"

"What?" Nathan immediately pulled away from her, the openness on his face shutting down. He grabbed his empty bottle and stood. "Is that all you think of me as? Some Trouble? I'm not just some pity case you have to solve, Parker." He gave her a look that bordered between anger and disappointment and then stalked off.

The blonde froze, watching him walk off. That wasn't what she meant at all.

She reached out for her glass and found it empty. She must have finished it off without noticing during their conversation. That would explain the warmth that had begun to settle in her chest. Slowly, she stood up and got out of the chair. She slid through the masses of people as she made her way to the bar.

Immediately, Duke was leaning on the varnished wood surface across from her. "Can I help you?"

She handed over her glass. "Another drink. A different flavor this time—surprise me."

He raised an eyebrow at her curt tone, but started doing as she asked. He filled a tall glass with ice and poured liquor from a bunch of unmarked bottles into it. When it was finished, topped off with another swirly straw, he slid it to her.

"Have you seen Nathan?" she asked.

Duke gestured with his thumb to the side of the room, where a closed set of glass doors faced the lake and led out to the wooden deck that surrounded the building.

She lifted up the drink with a nod. "Thanks. Just put this on a tab or something for me, okay?"

Without waiting for his responding quip, Audrey turned on her heel and moved across the restaurant. She pulled open the door and stepped outside. As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, the noise level fell several decibels. She sighed in relief.

She spotted Nathan leaning against the corner railing, nursing another beer and staring intensely out at the calm water. She walked up to him and almost clasped her hand on his back before rethinking it and stopping the movement. Her hand floundered awkwardly in midair before she shoved it down against her leg.

"Hey, Nathan, listen…" She leaned her back against the railing beside him. "I didn't mean to seem like… I wasn't trying to hurt you or insinuate that you needed to be fixed or anything."

"Audrey..."

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><p>Yay for deep Naudrey discussions. Let's get some more booze into them and see what happens, shall me? Let me know what you think!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"No, let me finish." She stopped him swiftly. "Like I said, I wasn't trying to bring up a delicate subject or be mean. I was just curious about your Trouble. I could've been… I could've asked those questions differently. Or just not asked them, because it's really not any of my business. So I'm sorry."

Nathan shifted so that he was facing her fully. "It's fine, Audrey. I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I don't mind talking about it with you, really. Yeah, it is a delicate subject but you are my best friend in Haven, so if I'm going to talk to anyone, it's going to be you."

"Okay, well I'm still sorry. But thanks for answering my questions. I appreciate you being honest with me." Audrey leaned down and took a drink from her glass. This one was a bright green color, and tasted a bit like sour apple. Her mouth puckered a bit as she swallowed down the tart liquid. "Whew. Okay. Wow. That's intense." She took another drink before looking back up at Nathan. He had set his beer bottle—now empty it seemed—down on the railing and was staring at her, laughing quietly.

Audrey reached out and slapped his shoulder. "Shut up, don't laugh at me."

He rubbed his hand over his mouth and tried to stop, but it took a few seconds. "Alright, alright, fine." He stood up straight and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So, hey, umm… what I said earlier… that wasn't weird or anything was it?"

The blonde cocked her head to the side. "Huh? What do you mean?" she asked for clarification.

He shrugged. "Just… that stuff about being able to feel you? I hope that didn't sound weird or anything. I wasn't trying to sound like… you know?"

"Oh, right." Audrey responded, although she really didn't know. What was he trying to say, exactly? She didn't want to ask because she could already tell how uncomfortable he was with the conversation.

"I don't want you to feel obligated or anything, to touch me. Or to try and fix my Trouble. It's my problem, I can deal with it, so—"

"Oh, Nathan, no." She reached out and placed her hand on her partner's arm. "I definitely don't feel… obligated or anything. But I also don't mind. I know it's weird that I'm immune to the Troubles… but it must be nice to feel something, right? I'm your friend, I'm your partner. I'm whatever you need me to be, okay? As for fixing your Trouble… it's not that you need to be fixed. You are not broken, Nathan, you're afflicted. And I'm going to help however I can. Okay?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, okay. Partner. Got it." He stared at her for a second, and then shifted his eyes downward.

Audrey set her glass down on the railing next to the beer bottle and took a step closer to Nathan. "You okay, Nathan?" She rubbed her hand up and down on his arm. His hand fell out of his pocket and she swiftly took it in her own. "Nathan?"

He lifted his head up, his blue green eyes piercing hers. He reached up with his other hand and slowly ran the back of his fingers along her jawline. "Is this okay?" His voice sounded deeper, more husky, as if it were fraught with emotion.

She managed to fit a small smile on her face as she tried to figure out what he was doing. "Yeah," she murmured. She could feel her heart beating fast in her chest, over the whoosh of the wind over the water.

Nathan leaned in toward her and used his grip on her face to tilt her head upward. He moved at what felt like snail's pace. He was extremely nervous about being there alone with her, but at the same time he had the intense desire to kiss her. Luckily, she started leaning toward him too. So she wasn't pushing him away, which was good. She seemed to be okay with him kissing her, right?

He kept his eyes open as long as he could, but the closer he got to her, the blurrier she became. He allowed his eyes to fall closed as he tipped his lips towards hers. The lips were the most sensitive part of the body, he knew, and he could hardly wait to feel Audrey's against his.

Audrey took another half step forward, inching closer and closer to her partner. She tilted her head to the side and awaited his gentle kiss.

All of a sudden, the door burst open behind them. "Hey, hey, hey!" Duke called out, striding out onto the porch.

Surprised by his sudden arrival, Nathan straightened up and turned his head away. Audrey pulled her hand from his and took a large step back. She twisted her head around to look at their visitor.

Duke froze, staring at them. "Woah, am I interrupting anything?"

Audrey could only hope that the darkness of the porch could obscure the blush that spread across her face. "No, Duke. What's up?"

"Ooh, someone's tense."

Nathan growled lightly. "Duke, seriously?"

The tall man leaned back and held his hands up in a defensive position. "Hey, I just came to tell you guys that the Rock'em Sock'em Robots Competition is about to begin. But if you two just want to stay out here and have some hanky panky fun… well then I'm going to tell you to leave and go get your own room."

Audrey shook her head and scoffed disgustedly. "Oh God, really? Can you ever not be disgusting?"

Duke shrugged. "So what'll it be?"

"We'll be inside in a minute." Nathan informed him with a pointed look in his direction. He kept up the look until Duke backed up and went back into the Grey Gull. Once he disappeared, Nathan looked back down at his partner. "So, shall we?"

Audrey observed his renewed countenance, the bracing of his shoulders and hardening of his jaw, and sighed. "Alright, let's go join the madness." She grabbed her drink, took a big gulp of it, and then turned to walk back into the restaurant. Nathan followed her. She stopped in front of the large glass door and reached her hand out to grab the handle, and then paused.

"Are you going to go play Rock'em Sock'em Robots?" She asked him.

Nathan chortled. "Nope. But I'll cheer for you to go play."

She laughed with him. "Well, if I've got my own cheerleader then why not? Are you going to put on a little pleated skirt, wave around some pom poms?"

He stopped laughing immediately. "No."

"Oh, darn." She frowned playfully. "Then what's in it for me?"

Nathan pointed to her half empty glass. "I'll go get you another drink."

"That'll do, pig, that'll do." She quipped as she yanked open the door and head inside. Their table from before was empty, but she spotted an open spot at the bar. She headed straight for it and sat down on the bar stool.

When Nathan caught up to her, he leaned down to talk to her. He had to speak right in her ear to be heard clearly over the music and Audrey shivered as his breath fanned over the side of her face. "What's that from?"

She glanced at him, partially confused by the question and partially having missed it from her momentary daze of arousal. "Huh?"

"That pig line?" He talked into her ear again. "What's it from?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Babe, the movie. At the end, after the pig wins the competition, the farmer congratulates him, basically."

"And… why did you say that to me?" He raised one eyebrow.

Audrey giggled and took a sip of her drink. "I don't know. It just fit the situation."

He shook his head at her. "Okay then." His stuck his hand out over the bar to get the attention of the bartender. Duke had let someone else take over, it seemed, and Audrey didn't recognize the new guy. He handed over his empty beer bottle and asked "Hey, can I get another beer and how about a Caribbean Blue for the lady?"

The bartender nodded and began mixing her drink.

"A blue what?" The blonde questioned.

The drinks slid over to them from across the bar. Nathan handed Audrey the tall glass, which was an electric blue color that came with both a twisty straw and a slice of pineapple on the side.

"It's a Caribbean Blue." He enunciated as she took a sip.

She hummed happily and took another drink. "Okay, that's pretty good. Very tropical."

"Glad you like it." He grinned. "It matches your top."

Audrey glanced down at her shirt and then to the glass in her hand and guffawed. "Yeah, it does!" She took another drink as Nathan grabbed his beer and took a swig. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Duke's booming voice demanded the attention of everyone in the room. The music had cut out and he was speaking through a microphone over the stereo system.

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><p>More booze, and the fun is about to begin. Thanks for reading and reviewing!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"Hello everyone and welcome to the Grey Gull!" He paused for a second while everyone cheered. Audrey lifted her head up and tried to find him, but she couldn't see over the heads of all the other people around her. Nathan noticed what she was doing and popped up on his tip toes to look. He pointed over to the far left hand corner of the room.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight. We've got something extra special planned for this evening's festivities. So, the Haven Fire Department was looking for something fun to do for their annual fundraiser. And I'm sorry ladies, they didn't decide to make a calendar for you all, but maybe you can convince them to do that next year." A bunch of girls squealed. Audrey found herself smiling with the rest of them. A fire department calendar was definitely something she'd donate for.

"But I was talking to Mr. Creighton and he was telling me about his kids and this toy they had been enjoying recently. Now I don't really know anything about kids, but I do know a little something about drunk people. So I said to him, 'You know, drunk people can act like kids sometimes.' Yes, I'm talking about all of you. So I said to him, I said, 'Why don't we bring that game to them?'" More people started yelling and cheering excitedly, causing him to pause for a minute to let it die down.

"And thus, tonight's event was born. So I present to you, this year's Haven Fire Department fundraiser, a Rock'em Sock'em Robots Competition!"

Another, deeper voice, who Audrey figured was Mr. Creighton, took over talking. "Thanks, everyone. So the way this is all going to work is like this: I already have some of my men walking around. You can tell who they are, they're wearing their uniforms. They've got some buckets, and they'll be collecting some general donations. Meanwhile, it costs 10 dollars per person to join the tournament, per round if we end up playing multiple rounds. It depends on how many people are interested in participating. So come on up and see me to sign up, I'll take names for about twenty minutes, and then we'll get started."

He handed the microphone back over to Duke. "Alright, so come on up and talk to the handsome Mr. Creighton here and get signed up for the tournament. In the meantime, enjoy the music and please order drinks or food or whatever, the bar is completely open tonight and we've got plenty of great specials for you to choose from. Once again, thanks everyone for coming out, let's have a great night!"

The clapping and screaming picked back up. It continued for couple minutes, until someone turned the music back on.

Nathan poked Audrey's cheek, beaming wildly as she squeaked in shock. "So you going to go sign up?"

She rubbed her cheek and sighed. "Yeah, okay, I guess so. Stay here and hold down the fort?"

He lifted up his arm and saluted her. "Yes, ma'am." He sat down in the stool after she stood up.

Audrey took another large mouthful of her drink, and then walked off toward the corner. After squeezing through a crowd of young dancing hooligans, and nearly spilling her drink, she spotted Mr. Creighton, recognizing him by his thick salt and pepper mustache. He was standing next to Duke in front of a small wooden table holding a clear bucket like the one she had seen the fire fighter with earlier and three Rock'em Sock'em Robot toys.

"Mr. Creighton!" She greeted, tramping up to him.

"Ms. Parker!" He shook her hand. "What a pleasant surprise."

Duke stepped up to her side and clasped a hand on her shoulder. "Audrey doesn't really get out much, but I made sure to personally invite her tonight."

"Any chance to help out a fellow department," she explained with a shrug.

The older man nodded. "Of course. Well would you like to participate in the tournament?"

"I would!" She shuffled her purse from her shoulder down to her wrist without shaking her drink too much. She slipped her hand inside, pulled out some money, and then handed it over to him. He counted it and dropped it into the bucket.

He wrote her name down on a clipboard. "Alright, you're all set! We'll call you up when it's time to play."

"Sounds like a deal." She replied. With the quick wave of her hand, she turned and started walking back toward the bar.

Before she could get too far, Duke grabbed her arm and pulled her to a halt. He reached a hand out for her drink, but she pulled it away quickly and took a sip. "Woah, dear, how many drinks have you had tonight?"

Audrey looked down at the drink for a second, and counted. "This is just my third. Relax, I'm fine."

"Do I need to come look out for you?" He quipped.

She frowned. Yeah, she could feel the heaviness in her limbs and the cloudiness that had begun to take over her mind, but she could still see and think relatively clearly. "Nah, I'm fine, really."

He let go of her arm. "Okay. Well let me know if you need anything, alright?"

She nodded succinctly at him, and then made her way to Nathan. The crowd around the bar had gotten larger, apparently there was an influx of people ordering drinks before the competition was going to start. There was barely enough room for her to stand next to her partner. She ended up squeezing up to him and standing between his parted legs as he remained sitting on the stool.

"Do you want to sit down?" He asked.

Audrey shifted her weight back and forth for a moment, testing how her feet were handling the heeled boots she was wearing, and then she shook her head. "Nah, I'm alright." The alcohol was definitely lowering her senses, she realized. She didn't wear heels too often, only when necessary for extravagant functions, and thus her feet weren't too used to them. Her feet should be hurting right now, but the booze was helping her pain tolerance. She sent a quick thanks to the alcohol gods and took another drink from her glass.

"Okay." He stated, watching her lean to the side, slightly off balance. He reached out one arm and placed it on her waist, trying to keep her steady. "You sure you're alright?"

She huffed. "Okay, seriously, I'm fine. Why does everyone think I can't handle my alcohol? I can! I'm perfectly fine. Really."

"Everyone?" Nathan inquired. He felt kind of bad, because he wasn't trying to insinuate that she couldn't take care of herself. He was just a little worried about her in those heels. They were sexy, and made her legs look fabulous, but she seemed a bit unsteady in them. He knew he couldn't judge her alcohol tolerance, because he was drinking just as much as she was.

"Duke got all up in my face back there trying to make sure I was okay. God, people need to just leave me alone and let me have fun."

Her partner shrugged. "I'm sorry about Duke. Please, have all the fun you want, I'm not here to stop you."

Audrey giggled and reached out to poke the beer that was hanging from his free hand. "You seem to be having fun too. You're on your, what, fifth beer?"

Nathan 'pff'ed and battled her statement, "Nope, this is just my third, and I'm not even done with it yet." He swirled the bottle around, showing that there was still some beer left.

She gave him a sly look. "Chug it!"

"What?" He asked, incredulous.

"Come on, down it!" Audrey took a sip of her drink, as if imitating what he should do.

He just shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll just take it slow."

"Party pooper." Audrey pouted.

Nathan set his beer down on the bar and reached up to flick her lower lip with his pointer finger. A burst of tingly sensation burst across his skin at the contact and then he pulled away. Before he could say anything, Duke's voice came across the speakers.

"Okay, well, it looks like we've got plenty of people signed up, so we're going to get started with the rounds. If you still want to participate, please come on up and talk to Mr. Creighton. But for now, we've got two Rock'em Sock'em Robots stations set up over here. When I call out your name, please come on up and let's get this competition started!" He listed off a few names, including Audrey's.

"Here we go!" Nathan said cheerfully, grabbing his beer bottle. He pushed Audrey back slowly, allowing her to make some space for herself in the crowd while he made himself enough room to get off of the stool. "Lead the way."

She grabbed his free hand in hers and weaved her way through the crowd. When she got close enough to the front, Duke found her and showed her to the table with her opponent. Nathan stood right next to her to cheer her on. He held her drink for her while she placed her hands on the triggers and got ready to play.

The matches went by quickly; it really didn't take long for one of the little robots to pop the head of the other one up. Audrey won her first two matches, but then got out somewhere in the semi-finals. She took it all in stride.

She and Nathan moved over to the edge of the crowd and just watched the others finish the competition. A few last minute additions messed up Mr. Creighton's score sheet for a few minutes, but then he got it worked out and managed to work them into the schedule before the finals.

The finals got really intense. The crowd fell almost completely silent as the last two competitors mashed the trigger buttons and the robots swung at each other with full force. Both heads popped up and the whole crowd screamed. They ended up doing a two out of three and finally the winner was announced. It was a short thin girl with a brunette bob, whom Duke introduced as Jennifer.

After everyone in the establishment cheered wildly for her, Mr. Creighton grabbed the microphone and officially ended the competition. He thanked everyone for coming and for donating.

* * *

><p>Wow, an update, yay. So now that the competition is over... what's coming next? Hmm... Let me know what you think!<p> 


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